


Human Nature is a Pesky Thing

by Kyeitz



Category: Subway Surfers
Genre: Curses, Cussing, F/M, Fluff, I've never done this before but here we go, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Self-Insert, Slow Burn, Subway Surfers - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:07:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26153155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyeitz/pseuds/Kyeitz
Summary: It's within human nature to crave positive interactions with others. Without it, it becomes increasingly likely that an individual will descend into madness. So what happens when you give a man with a bunny mask who lacks such interaction such a sweet little smile and a simple "Thank you"? Well, much more than you bargained for that's for sure.
Relationships: Frank/Reader, Frank/Reader (Subway Surfers)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 45





	1. Familiar Roots

Human beings are social creatures by nature. This is an inevitable fact of life - one you had learned along your long educational journey. As a psychology major, it felt like that was the one piece of information taught to you that was nearly meant to be self-evident. If you deprive an individual of contact - of comfort - of affection - for long enough, it would drive any individual past the point of becoming mad. There were always exceptions, of course, but it was always safe to go with the typical above the exceptional. That didn’t mean that the exceptional wasn’t fascinating, of course, but there was comfort within the security and familiarity of the typical. It was this comfort in the typical that drove you to relocate to Sub City after your graduation, the city where your sweet Aunt Connie and your rambunctious cousin Jake resided.

You smiled, reminiscing upon the last time you had seen the two in person. It had been several years ago, back when Jake was still a young child and his father was...well, still around. You never liked the guy very much, even as a kid that guy gave you the creeps. He always smelled of cheap cigars and poor life choices. Honestly, you were somewhat glad he was gone - after all, Aunt Connie seemed to be much more cheerful than she used to be prior to his ‘departure’. Regardless, it always made you happy when you remembered how joyful of a kid Jake could be, even when life seemed to be tough. He was a very resourceful kid too, managing to worm his way into some of the most wacky situations he could find.

Snapping back into reality, you looked up upon the red brick apartment complex in front of you. 114 W. 19th Street, Sub City. Admittedly, you remembered it being a bit nicer - but doesn’t everywhere fun seem that way? You looked down at your phone, shooting a quick text to your aunt signaling your arrival before opening the back of the moving vehicle behind you. You couldn’t help but feel a burst of optimism flow throughout your chest as you stared at all of the packed-up cardboard boxes (of which you had taped up with great success if you do say so yourself). When Aunt Connie had first mentioned to you how her neighbors were moving out of their apartment to retire out in the country, you never would've guessed that you would be the one to sign the lease and be moving in a few months later.

Your thoughts were interrupted by the opening of a door not too far away, followed by a sudden, energetic greeting and arms wrapping around you in a tight yet familiar hug.

“(y/n)! Is that you? Goodness, when did you get so tall? I haven’t seen you in so long! And - oh! You really do just look exactly like your mother. Did you make the trip okay?” your Aunt Connie rambled. You gave her a warm smile in response, raising your hands in an attempt to calm her rampant speech.

“Hey Aunt Connie! It’s good to see you. Yeah, I’ve definitely grown a few inches since we last spoke,” your eyes darted around slightly, scanning the area around the two of you before asking “where’s Jake? He knew I was going to arrive today, right?”

Connie sighed, giving you a mildly embarrassed smile.

“Yes, he knows. He’ll be down in a moment. He and his friends were down at the trainyard again skating around much later than they should’ve been,” you watched as she tensed up “so he ended up being brought home by Mr. Lutz again. Honestly, I wish he’d listen when I ask him to come home. Sometimes I wonder if he even understands how much trouble he could get into one of these days by wandering into places he shouldn’t be during times that aren’t safe.”

You gave your aunt a sympathetic, comforting smile.

“I’m sure he understands. Even if he doesn’t, he’ll get it eventually. Kids just need to learn stuff for themselves sometimes. As long as you make sure he isn’t doing anything illegal I’d say you’re doing better than otherwise.” 

Her face twitched into a slight grimace.  
_Ooh, touchy subject. Crap, what has the kid been up to this time?_

Before you could ask, your conversation was interrupted by none other than Jake himself.

“Doodles! Long time no see,”  _ Still haven’t let go of that nickname, have you kid? It’s been like...ten years since you started calling me that. God, you doodle a bunch of anime stuff as a kid and no one ever seems to let it go. “ _ How’s it hanging? Still doodling, I hope? I’d rather not have my  _ brilliant _ nickname go to waste.”

Rolling your eyes and tapping the brim of his hat upwards to tease him, you cracked a small smile.

“I’m doing great, Jacob,” he scrunched his nose at the use of his full name “and yes, I do still doodle. It’s only a hobby now, though, so I’m sorry to disappoint you there. I’m not exactly feeling up to becoming the next  _ Picasso _ of this generation and having a bunch of snobs in overpriced designer suits tell me my singular blue dot is two millimeters too far to the right to convey sadness.”

You watched as Jake smiled at you, fixing his hat before giving you a small laugh. He spoke as he hopped up into the moving vehicle to grab some boxes.

“I feel you on that, dude. I love spray painting but I’d rather just do it for me, ya know? Also, apartment three, right? One across the hall from us?” You nodded in response.

“Yeah. That’s fair. Spray paint can be a really interesting medium if you know how to use it right. And yeah, apartment number three,” you smirked “I hope you’re ready to have me as your neighbor because I will not hesitate to come over and kick your ass at video games if you start acting up.” Handing you a box, Jake scoffed.

“As if. I’ll have you know I’m an absolute  _ master _ at Skate Run 2. I’ll have you know my high score is - and I quote - fifty thousand.” You rolled your eyes, laughing at his confidence. Connie had mentioned his obsession with that game recently, and you had taken it upon yourself to pick it up in your free time so you’d have something in common with him when you got there.

“Whatever, kid. Let’s get this stuff inside so I can act on that threat.”

After finishing the playful banter, the three of you spent the rest of your afternoon transporting what felt like an endless amount of boxes and furniture from the vehicle to your new apartment. Each trip, you made sure to look around and absorb the scenery that surrounded you. The interior, as you expected, was much more well-kept than the exterior of the building. The walls were covered with lined green wallpaper and homely wood paneling, accompanied by some green uplight wall sconces. Furthermore, you noticed that there appeared to be a large window at the end of each hallway. On one of your trips, you saw that there didn’t appear to be too lovely of a view, considering the fact that you couldn’t see much more than the alleyway below and the building adjacent to yours. In hindsight, that view made sense and you weren’t sure what else you were expecting.

Entering your apartment for the first time was also in itself an interesting event. The walls were a gentle light brown in the main living area and a dark, faded red in the bedroom. All things considered, you enjoyed the feeling the rooms gave off - especially as the three of you slowly populated the living space with familiar trinkets and decor. By the time 8 PM rolled around and you stood staring at your new apartment filled with halfway unpacked boxes, the realization that you finally had your own place began to hit and you couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride emerge from your chest. You turned to Jake and Connie, smiling with confidence and gratitude as you spoke.

“I can’t thank you two enough for helping me move in like this. I’m sure you both are normally very busy and I assure you that I appreciate all of the help. Is there anything I can do to pay you guys back? I know it’s late but I wouldn’t mind making dinner. I’d have to use what you have, since I haven’t had a chance to go grocery shopping yet, but it’s the least I could do!”

They both smiled warmly back, Connie being the first to respond.

“Oh (y/n), don’t worry about it! You don’t have to-” The sound of Jake’s stomach rumbling interrupted her. Admittedly, it was mildly concerning how loud the noise was. Jake gave a small shrug.

“Well, look what you did. Looks like you’ll just have to act on that offer, doodles. I hope you can cook as well as you can draw.” He laughed, giving you a thumbs up. You covered your mouth, unable to help but lose your composure a bit at the ridiculousness of your cousin and his appetite. Connie gave Jake an irritated glance, but you piped up before she could scold him for his behavior.

“Of course. Give me a bit and I’ll see what I can do. And how about after we eat you show me those Skate Run 2 skills you were boasting so confidently about earlier? Loser has to buy the other their favourite drink next time they visit a store.” Jake smirked.

“Bet?” He asked, a challenging tone in his voice.

“Bet.” You replied without hesitation, prepared to beat the kid at his own game. Normally you’d let him win, but now that you’d gotten a free drink involved you had all the excuses you need to absolutely destroy this poor, clueless child. The taste of victory is most sweet when it’s won from a mildly arrogant little bastard. The two of you stared each other down as if you were in a shoot-off while Connie stood next to you, mildly concerned. Again, before she could say a word, Jake ended up darting off to go get his video game system ready and you followed behind - heading to the kitchen instead. You heard Connie give a gentle, lighthearted sigh before laughing and following the two of you back to their apartment.

Looking through their kitchen, they admittedly didn’t have too much variety in terms of ingredients - but there was definitely enough for you to make something decent. You opened your phone to look up possible recipes involving what you knew you had at your disposal, settling on a simple yet delicious-looking stir fry recipe you found. As you cooked, you noticed that Connie seemed to be relaxed by the fact that she didn’t have to be the one to cook dinner, despite her earlier protest. You enjoyed knowing that it probably eased some of her stress and made a mental note to do this again on occasion if they ended up liking your cooking.

After approximately half an hour had passed, you had managed to finish preparing food, and presented it happily to your family. Connie immediately gave you praise and gratitude before rambling on about old memories. As much as you loved her, you couldn’t help but tune her out after about the first five minutes. You had heard these stories countless times, so you could afford to let yourself have some selective attention there. Meanwhile, Jake dug into the meal with excitement and - much to your pleasure - didn’t appear to be dying. That was presumably a good sign that you had cooked something worth eating, so you began to eat your own plate of food. As you suspected by the others’ reactions, it tasted wonderful considering the limitations you had with ingredients.

After finishing dinner and turning your attention back to your aunt long enough to answer her questions about your current plans, you spent the next few hours repeatedly destroying Jake’s high score and laughing maliciously with every round that you managed to raise the bar he needed to reach higher. After about two hours, Jake realized the hopelessness of the situation - despite the fact that if he asked for the seven-hundredth rematch of the night you would allow him another - and conceded to the fact that he would have to snag you that drink next time he went to the gas station to get his own snacks.

Since your aunt had already gone to sleep by then, you made sure you said your goodbyes to Jake before heading back to your own apartment for the night. As much fun as you had, both you and Jake would probably be better off going to sleep instead of staying up all night playing competitive games together. You walked across the hall, entering into the main living area of your apartment and taking a nice glance over everything before turning to your bathroom. As you did every night, you made sure to shower, brush your teeth, and do everything else you felt was necessary before heading into your bedroom. As soon as you got near your bed, you flopped down onto the sheets and wrapped yourself up tight. 

As you laid there attempting to fall asleep, you contemplated on how the day had gone. You had missed being in Sub City dearly, and from what today was like it felt as if everything was going to turn out alright. As far as you understood, all you had left to do was to finish unpacking and find a good job in the area and you would be set in a nice, calm, typical lifestyle full of familiarity. Maybe you’d even start making some local friends your age and incorporating them into your routine. The possibilities swarming in your head felt endless and filled you with excitement for the upcoming days. After a while, you drifted off to sleep with optimism bursting from your heart. You were convinced that this was going to be the start of something lovely and nothing, as far as you knew, could mess this up.


	2. Lost in the Subway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You were hoping that Jake would cooperate for once. Of course, you were wrong. However, you being wrong like this didn't typically end with you meeting a strange man in a subway. That was new.

The next morning you were awoken by the blaring alarm of your cell phone, followed by the gentle morning light creeping in your window to rest softly upon your face. With slight irritation, you rolled over to grab the device, clicking the power button and reading the screen. 6 in the morning, per usual. Admittedly, you probably could have slept in today, but the optimism from yesterday still lingered within you as you pressed the dismiss button to turn off the irritating alert. You sighed, staring out the window of your bedroom for a brief moment before slowly sitting upright. You raised your arms above your head to stretch, hearing your spine crack mildly as you worked your muscles.

“Ugh...time to get up, I guess.” You mumbled to yourself as you swung your legs over the side of your bed and stood up. You grabbed a change of clothes from your dresser, opting for a casual t-shirt, jeans, and regular undergarments before walking to your bathroom. Again, you went through your casual routine of freshening up and preparing for the day ahead of you. After cleaning up and getting dressed, you stared at yourself in the mirror for a brief moment and placed your hands on your hips with a smile.

“Okay - I can do this. ‘Just gotta believe in myself. Let’s go. I’ve got this.” You rambled, preparing yourself mentally for the stresses ahead. Today you had planned on continuing the unpacking process and, if time permitted, sending out some job applications for what would be at least temporary working positions in your area. Admittedly, you found the thought of possible rejection to be rather terrifying. However, due to the unfortunate nature of being an adult, you had to prioritize your ability to provide for yourself over any discomforts or fears you had.

You entered your kitchen, thankful that you had the common sense the day before to unpack your coffee pot and some mugs before finishing for the day. You started brewing a fresh pot of your favorite blend before opening your phone to search some local job positions so you could get an idea of what was available. Admittedly, there wasn’t too much open for jobs in the field you wanted, but you made sure to bookmark any psychology-field jobs you could find. After finding a good few, you made sure to look through some entry-level jobs as well so that you could, in a worst case scenario, at least have some form of income to hold you steady.

Your focus was interrupted by the blaring beeps of your coffee pot, signaling the readiness of your drink. You poured yourself a cup and sat down in one of your dining table chairs. It was early, so you weren’t feeling particularly pressured to chug down the sweet bitterness of coffee bean water. You had taken a liking to this particular taste back in your junior year, when your professor had offered you a cup during one of your research meetings. You had never been too big of a fan of the glorified caffeine liquid prior to that moment, but after experiencing the mixture you had admittedly grown fond of it.

You topped off your cup, rinsing it out in your kitchen sink before placing the cup over a rag on the counter to dry. You weren’t entirely sure if you wanted another cup yet so you decided that you would wait to see how hard the caffeine hit you before making that choice. You began humming a gentle tune to yourself as you walked over to the pile of taped-up cardboard boxes in the corner of your apartment. Admittedly, you had unpacked most of the important items yesterday. However, it brought you a sense of comfort and accomplishment to imagine every smaller decoration and doodad being designated its own unique place in your home. You spent the next few hours going through each cardboard box and carefully assigning and moving each item to a place you found to be the most fitting. You made sure each poster - especially the one with your favorite game spread on it - was stuck to the wall as level as you could, that each frame was placed at an angle you felt appropriate, and each book was placed alphabetically on your bookshelf. As a joke, you almost considered putting the books in order of the first author’s last name to nod back to your days of writing in APA format; however, you decided against the idea because you didn’t feel like torturing your future self when you wanted to read a book.

Once all of the items had been set, you stood back to look at your apartment, satisfied with your own work. You checked the time on your phone - only 10 AM. After gathering up all of the empty boxes, you made sure to fold each one down as much as possible before taking them downstairs to one of the recycling bins of the complex - taking care to ensure that it didn’t overflow unnecessarily. You had made sure to bring your wallet and keys with you before leaving, deciding to go pick up some groceries from a smaller store not too many blocks away after handling the boxes. You didn’t get too much from the store - just enough to get you through the week with a small treat here and there. Regardless of this fact, you were satisfied with the choices you had made.

By Noon you had returned to your apartment and placed your groceries into appropriate locations. You sat down on your couch and opened your laptop, ready to prepare a resume that you could alter as necessary and submit to potential places of employment. It admittedly took longer than you had expected - since you felt a strong urge to format the document in a meticulous way - but you figured that it would be worth it if it gave you a better chance at being noticed within a pool of potential employees. Once it was finished, you spent the rest of your afternoon filling out job applications with the occasional break to watch videos or listen to music so that you wouldn’t overwhelm yourself.

Due to the monotonous, repetitive nature of filling out the applications, you hadn’t realized how quickly time had passed until your routine was interrupted by an irritated knock that originated from your front door. Immediately, you set your laptop onto the small coffee table in front of you and walked over to answer the door. Standing in front of you was Connie, seeming mildly exasperated and impatient. You made sure to give her a warm smile before speaking, hoping that it would ease up her mood in case you were the one she was irritated at.

“Hey Aunt Connie! What’s up? Would you like to come in?”

She shook her head, placing one hand upon her hip and the other on her cheek as she looked to the side. The poor woman seemed almost embarrassed about what she was about to ask.

“No, I’m sorry (y/n).. I just needed to ask you a favor, if you wouldn’t mind? I’m sure you’re probably busy.”

You raised your hand, waiving off her concern as you replied.

“No, no! It’s completely fine. I’m more than happy to help! Plus, I’ve been filling out some applications all day and could honestly use a break from it before my mind melts into putty. What do you need me to do?”

She cracked a tiny, yet noticeable smile at your eagerness. You watched as she pulled out her phone to look at it.

“Well...it’s just Jake. I’ve been trying to text him for the past two hours to let him know that he needs to be home by eight and he hasn’t responded. Admittedly I’m starting to wonder if he’s ignoring me on purpose to hang out with his friends. Maybe I’m too soft on him?” You watched her tense up slightly before she waved her hand dismissively, continuing on. “I don’t know. I was just wondering if you could go down to that old trainyard he’s always skating in and tell him he needs to come home? I’d go get him myself but my boss wants me in an online conference with him and some other higher ups in the business in twenty minutes and I can’t afford to miss it. I’ve been working on this pitch all week and it would reflect badly on me to have to postpone it at the last second.”

You gave your stressed Aunt Connie a sympathetic smile. You could tell she was trying to do her best to parent Jake despite her own insecurities. You thought to yourself about the possibility of mentioning counseling to her later to address those worries in a constructive way but tucked the thought to the back of your mind since you didn’t want to dismantle her ability to focus on her meeting. For now, you settled on helping her as much as you could.

“Of course I can! I’ll text you as soon as I find him and let him know that he needs to come back. If he’s cooperative I may even take him to go get a snack somewhere. After all, it seems like that kid really likes food. He may be more willing to listen in the future if I sneak in some positive reinforcement there. All I need to know is where the trainyard is.”

She smiled appreciatively back at you, the tension in her stance seeming to almost immediately begin easing up.

“It’s about a fifteen minute walk south of here. It’s rather hard to miss it. After all, it’s relatively large. You should be able to see it on your phone’s map if you look it up.”

You nodded, giving her a thumbs up.

“Cool! I’ll head out in a minute to go grab the kid. Good luck with your meeting! I hope it goes well!”

“Thank you. Good luck getting him back here. It’s usually an..adventure, unfortunately.”

You laughed a bit to yourself, closing the door as she walked back to her own apartment. You opened up your phone’s map to get an idea of where the trainyard was before grabbing your keys. You stood there momentarily, contemplating on whether you should walk or drive there. After some thought about how much you had already sat down throughout the day, you decided that it might be beneficial to walk there - especially if your cousin decided to cooperate and come back immediately since you two could bond and chat along the journey home. You also made sure to grab your secondary keychain - decorated solely with a personal alarm and pepper spray - and attached it to the loop of your jeans just in case. If you were going to walk somewhere alone - especially in some old trainyard - you were determined to at least _try_ to be safe about it.

As soon as you were sure you were ready, you exited your apartment and made certain that you locked the door behind you. You took to humming the tune of your favorite song quietly as you descended the stairs and exited the building. The walk to the trainyard itself was fairly pleasant, all things considered. It gave you an opportunity to view some of the businesses around the area, appreciate the occasional decorative shrubbery, and in general stretch your legs. You wished you had brought your headphones, but due to the unfamiliarity of the area you opted to work on committing these places to memory as you walked. Upon arriving at the trainyard you realized that Connie had been correct - it was pretty hard to miss.

You looked along the fence for an opening - finding one within the fence not too far away. 

_Time to get rebellious, I suppose. You better be in here somewhere, kid, because I refuse to risk getting caught just to find out you aren’t here._ You thought to yourself as you squeezed between the boards. Once in the trainyard, you simply wandered - taking note of the railroad cars and the occasional tags painted onto them. As colorful as the artwork was, you still hoped that whoever had done them got permission before painting them. They probably hadn’t - and you knew this - but you could still hope. As you walked, you remembered Jake mentioning his use of spray paint as an artistic medium. Immediately afterwards, as you looked upon one of the spray-painted tags that read “JAZE,” you managed to connect the dots.

_Oh. So that’s why Aunt Connie cringed the other day when I mentioned illegal activities. Interesting street name, at least. Jake’s definitely got some artistic skill, but I hope he’s at least being careful about this. The last thing that kid needs is some marks against him for trying to express himself. Maybe I should work on finding places that would pay him to do this kind of thing so he can do it in a safer environment? Well... only if he’s open to the idea, of course. You can only encourage someone towards something so far before it goes out of your hands._

After a few minutes, you began to hear the faint sound of voices and skateboards. You couldn’t quite make out what they were talking about, but that wasn’t your place to intrude anyhow. As you turned around the corner of one of the railroad cars, you were met with four very obviously-surprised teenagers. Your cousin, you noticed, seemed the most surprised.

“Doodles? What are you doing here?” He asked, almost tripping off of his board since he had been mid-trick. You felt your smile strain ever-so slightly at the name.

“I’m here because your mom sent me here, kid. You weren’t responding to her messages and she needed to make sure you knew that she wants you home by 8 tonight. She wanted to come get you herself but her boss has got her hands tied in some meeting,” you shrugged, leaning against the faded red railroad car next to you. “Honestly, I’d say you probably lucked out on that one. If your mom saw what you were doing down here with the graffiti you’d probably be hearing a much bigger earful than I’d ever give you. Plus, if you head home now maybe we can work out a reward for your cooperation?”

Jake rolled his eyes with emphasis, picking up his board. His friends shared glances between each other, hesitant to speak. You tried to smile at them, realizing that it probably wasn’t the best idea to allow your first impression to Jake’s friends to come across as ‘strict rule-enforcing figure of authority’.  
“Hey. I’m (y/n), it’s nice to meet you all! I’m Jake’s cousin. I just moved in across the hall from him. I probably should’ve mentioned that first. I’m not sure if he’s mentioned me before or not.”

You watched as the kids thought for a moment, the blonde one suddenly perking up with realization before she replied with excitement. Jake’s face scrunched into a slight grimace when he realized what was about to occur.

“Oh! You’re THAT cousin! Jake mentioned a little bit about you earlier - mainly about how he absolutely destroyed you at Skate Run 2 yesterday!” _Is that so? Jake, you filthy little liar. I’ll grant you mercy this time. I hope you appreciate it, kid._ “I’m Tricky! This is Fresh, and this is Yutani! It’s nice to meet you too!”

Tricky held out her hand for a handshake, and you willingly obliged. She seemed sweet, from the way that she was immediately willing to welcome you once she understood who you were. Fresh gave you a small smile and waved with the hand that wasn’t placed upon a red boombox next to him. Yutani, the one wearing a green alien suit, also gave you a smile as she fiddled with the red straps that held something to her back. You noticed some sort of large cylinder strapped to her. _Odd_ , you thought. _I wonder what she’s got there?_

Before you could question it too deeply, Jake let out a somewhat embarrassed laugh.

“Haha, yeah. This is Doodles. They’re pretty cool. You guys oughta see some of the stuff she comes up with! They’re the one that taught me what it means to be an artist back when we were kids. Ah man, I used to wanna draw like them so bad. But now it’s apparently just a ‘hobby’ so I’m guessing we can’t convince them to give us an example right now with this puppy,” he joked as he tossed up a can of orange spray paint.

Your eyes widened slightly. That, admittedly, surprised you. Jake looked up to you? How touching. You couldn’t help but crack a small smile and laugh a little before agreeing with his guess.

“Yeah, no. I’d rather not join you in tagging the place. Plus, I’m not exactly hyper-familiar with using spray paint. I appreciate the sentiment, though.”

Jake shrugged, placing the can of spray paint back into his jacket pocket. Tricky gave him a questioning look as she spoke.

“So Jake, are you heading back then? (y/n) did mention a reward, after all? It might be a good idea for you to cooperate for once.”

Jake contemplated what she asked for a moment before he got that typical glint of mischief in his eyes. _Oh no_ . _What are you planning, kid?_

“Maybe...It all depends.”

“On?..” Tricky asked, hesitantly.

“On if Doodles can catch me.” Jake’s face turned so that he could stare you directly in the eyes, a fiery challenge present within his stance. This 15 year old arrogant delinquent was actually going to challenge you to catch him if you wanted him to go home?

_You smug little bastard. You’re on._

After a second filled to the brim of tension between the two of you, Jake hit the ground running away from you, laughing maniacally. _Here we go_. You took off after him immediately, keeping up the pace as well as you could. Unfortunately, you weren’t as fit as Jake - you were well aware of this. University life didn’t exactly present itself with too many moments of free time to where you could go out and run this freely. However, you managed to keep him in your sight, mimicking every quick turn he made and occasionally trying to cut him off by using the railroad cars to your advantage. After one particularly close call, you watched as Jake quickly tossed his board down, hopping on and riding at a much quicker pace than before.

“You cheater! That’s not fair!” You protested, trying to sprint faster as you began to lose all of your precious progress towards catching him.

“I never said I’d play fair, Doodles! That’s on you!” He shouted back, amused by your frustrated reaction. He had a point you couldn’t argue against and he knew it. He hadn’t specified anything besides that you had to catch him. “C’mon, I was hoping for some challenge here! I could run away from you with my eyes closed!”

“Then do it, you smug little-” your insult was interrupted when you began to slightly trip. You quickly recovered, noticing that Jake had begun to turn through the railroad cars in an attempt to lose you. “Jake! Get back here!”

You quickly began to lose your visual on your target, growing increasingly frustrated. You did your best to follow the sound of his skateboard, but your efforts began to deteriorate until they were nothing but futile. Eventually, you heard nothing but your own heavy breathing and the sound of your own shows hitting the dirt. Once you realized this, you slowed down to a stop, bending over and placing your hands on your knees as you attempted to catch your breath. You had lost him, and it annoyed you.

After you were able to breathe again, you looked around to see if there was any sign of Jake nearby. It wasn’t until your eyes landed upon a wide-open door to your right that you had any hope left. You walked up to the door hesitantly, contemplating the possibility that your cousin would’ve been foolish enough to enter the place. It had very obviously been boarded up in the past and didn’t appear to be very well taken care of. You felt the hair on the back of your neck raise slightly as you realized that your cousin - as smart as he could be when he wanted to be - was most likely the one to leave this door open and run into the creepy dark tunnel. _Great._

You pulled out your phone, turning the flashlight on as you slowly descended down the disgusting stairway. You’re glad that you had kept your phone charged throughout the day, otherwise you probably would’ve let the kid be down there on his own. If he dies? Well, that’s on him at that point for going down casually into creepy murder tunnels. Once at the bottom of the stairs, you took a look in both directions contemplatively before deciding to head right.

As you passed each broken pipe and overgrown brick, you felt your anxiety levels slowly rise. The only noise you could hear was your own shoes tapping against the ground or the occasional buzz of your phone as your flashlight timed out. As you walked, you decided to shoot Jake a text to express your gratitude towards him getting you into this situation.

(y/n): “I don’t know where you are, but I _WILL_ find you and I _WILL_ drag you home. No rewards for you. I can’t believe I actually considered buying you food.”

A moment later, your phone buzzed. You checked the notification to see that Jake had responded. In a typical Jake fashion, he sent nothing back but the most irritating little tongue out crazy emoji. The kid was mocking you and you were well aware that he was. You refreshed the timer on your phone’s flashlight while you had your phone open and continued on, determined to find this kid and give him a piece of your mind. As you walked, seconds turned to minutes and those minutes added up much more quickly than you would’ve liked. You weren’t sure when you stopped looking for Jake and when you started looking for the exit to the subway tunnels, but the next time you checked your phone you found that the time read 8:17 PM. You sent Jake another text, starting a conversation that you dreaded more and more as you read it.

(y/n): “Hey. Are you alright? I’ve been searching for you for almost two hours now in these tunnels.”

Jake: “Tunnels? I didn’t go into any tunnels. Weren’t you following me down the tracks?”

(y/n): “No, I lost you shortly after you got on your board. I found an open door and thought that you had gone into it, so I went down there.”

(y/n): “Please tell me you’re still here. I swear to God, Jake. There’s rats down here.”

Jake: “No??? I’m in my bed at home? I was kidding when I said you had to catch me for me to go home. Are you still in the trainyard??? I thought you would’ve gone home by now?”

(y/n): “I hate you.”

Jake: “Sure you do. Love you too Doodles.”

Jake: “...are you alright tho? Want me to come find you? I know those tunnels pretty well. There’s some pretty good places to tag down there.”

(y/n): “No. I can find my way out. You shouldn’t be sneaking out this late. I’ll text you when I find my way out. Can’t be too hard, right?”

Jake: “If you’re sure. Let me know if you change your mind. I’d cry for at least 5 minutes if you got murdered by some tunnel demon.”

You sighed. _I can do this_. For another few minutes you marched on, keeping your hopes up as much as possible until you turned a corner and reached a peculiar looking clearing. It seemed similar to a train station stop, yet significantly more run down. The glass ceiling above your head was shattered in some places, with shrubbery overtaking the holes made. A crashed, abandoned railroad car was in the corner of the rooms on the track. You’d argue that it was a safety hazard for it to remain there - yet the level of abandonment of this station made you feel as if this was of little to no concern. In an odd way, it was almost beautiful. The moonlight falling softly from the damaged roof only contributed to this mystical beauty.

As you looked into the room, you noticed a peculiar figure standing next to one of the columns of the room, a briefcase sitting next to them on the ground as they seemingly fiddled with some control panel protruding out of the wall. You froze in place, quickly turning your flashlight off. The individual - a man, you guessed, upon further inspection - seemed to be dawning a rabbit-eared mask on his face. You felt the pit of your stomach drop as your grip on your phone tightened and you instinctively placed your hand on your pepper spray. You contemplated getting his attention.

_Okay. Lone man fiddling with a control panel in an abandoned tunnel in the middle of nowhere with a briefcase wearing gloves and a mask. Check that off on the list of things I didn’t think I’d be putting up with today. Am I about to get murdered? Is this how I die? Is this the tunnel demon Jake was talking about? Maybe he just works here? Yeah, why else would he be messing with some weird control panel in an abandoned station? Maybe he’s surveying the area for restorative efforts? Or maybe he just likes exploring abandoned places? But what’s with the mask? Maybe he’s just shy?..Am I really about to ask this guy for help? Welp. If I’m getting murdered tonight at least it’ll be by someone who knows how to dress up nice._

You cautiously approached the man, mildly surprised that you hadn’t caught his attention by simply entering the room. You wondered just exactly how focused he was on that panel for him to be this oblivious to your presence. Once you were a few feet away, you paused, staring at his back as you heard some gentle clicking coming from in front of him.

“Excuse me?” You asked quietly. You felt your heart drop as his body snapped around to face you. His left hand was placed on the control panel - his right clenched into a fist. You stared at the eyes of the mask as the redness they held appeared to shrink into pinpricks to dig into your soul. You both froze in place, staring the other down. Were someone to drop a needle in the room, you would be able to hear it hitting the ground. You attempted to speak.

“I- uh...I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. I just- well, I uh…” He stood more frozen than a statue. You gulped as you felt his gaze tearing you to shreds. You tried to mentally prepare yourself for any wrath he desired to place on you as you continued.

“I need help. Do you even work here? God, I’m so sorry - you just looked busy and like you knew what you were doing and I assumed you worked here. I’m lost and honestly kinda scared and I just wanna go home and-” He held up the hand he originally hand in a fist, opening it to make a halting motion. His eyes still bore into yours for a brief moment before he scanned your body. His pointed gaze felt off as it moved along your person - violating, almost. He straightened his posture, tilting his head slightly to the left. After a few moments of silence, you tried to speak again due to your nerves burning with anxiety.

“Can you show me the way out, please? I don’t have much on me right now but-” you were cut off again by a sudden, loud snap. He had snapped his fingers at you. You glanced down at the hand that had made the noise before quickly looking back up to make eye contact. The redness of the mask’s eyes slowly began to expand back to what they had been when you first saw him. You assumed this was a good sign. He slowly brought his hand up to where you assumed his mouth to be, making a silent, mildly creepy shushing motion.

“Oh! You want me to hush. Understandable. I’m so sorry-” you saw his head move as you apologized, almost as if he were rolling his eyes under his mask. You were rambling out of fear and you knew you were. In your defense, however, you were in a vulnerable situation and he didn’t exactly present himself as the most openly safe individual. You watched hesitantly as he squatted down slightly to pick up his briefcase. As soon as he stood back upright, you watched as he pressed a button on the panel, making it disappear back into the wall. Without saying anything, he began to walk to your right. You stared at him as he walked away, letting out a slight gasp as he stopped. He turned around to face you once again, staring.

 _Oh. He wants me to follow him_ _? Well, he hasn’t murdered me yet? Maybe he’s being nice?_

You perked up, quickly speed-walking up to be by his side before the two of you began walking together down the tracks. His gaze remained forwards, seemingly unbothered by the way you couldn’t help but examine him. After a few moments, you began to feel the silence eating away at you. Thus, you began to try and spark conversation.

“So… you do work here, right? Haha, That’s why you were over there working on part of the station?” No response.

“Do you come here often? My cousin says it’s a great place for tagging stuff. I personally wouldn’t know, but-” his eyes suddenly shrunk back down, his body tensing up.

_Okay bad idea. What if he has to clean that stuff up? Shouldn’t have mentioned that._

“I’m so sorry! I don’t condone that behavior at all. I’m sure it’s extremely inconvenient for you.” You attempted to walk ahead of him enough for him to see you smile, but were met with a seemingly irritated stare. He made another motion for you to be quiet. You felt guilty. Spurred on by that guilt, after a minute had passed you continued.

“...I really appreciate this, by the way. It’s really sweet of you to help me out like this. Some people probably would’ve murdered me on sight. Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t. Oh! I almost forgot, my name is (y/n)! If it’s not too much, may I ask what yours is?”

You watched as he seemed to hesitate with your verbal appreciation. His head turned to look at you slightly before returning to watching what was ahead of you. After a few more moments of silence, you were startled by a low, smooth voice that - were there any other noises present in the subway - you’re sure you could’ve easily missed.

“...Frank.”

“Frank?” You looked up at him, shocked by the information you had been given. Now you were getting somewhere. “I really appreciate this, Frank. You have no idea how long I’ve been stuck in these tunnels looking for my cousin. The little bastard was supposed to go home but then he had me chase him, which led to me losing him. After that I ended up here. Without your help I wholeheartedly have no clue how much longer I’d be wandering down here. You really are a life-saver, Frank!” You beamed with gratitude, noticing him tilt his head away from you slightly.

You spent the rest of the journey in silence, not wanting to push him too far out of his comfort zone. After all, he still had all the time in the world to murder you if he wanted to. Instead of pestering him, you settled by observing him for possible distinguishing features that you could use besides his name. He had gone out of his way to help you and you wished to repay his kindness by letting the company that owned this trainyard know about how commendable their employee had been - even if it gets you chastised for being where you shouldn’t have.

Firstly, you noticed his height. He appeared to be around 6’3”, maybe 6’4” by your estimate. He appeared to be on the thinner side, but you couldn’t quite tell how thin due to the fact that he was wearing a well-tailored suit. He also appeared to have relatively short brown hair, which you recognized could be changed at any moment if he had the desire to color his hair. Maybe the brown was the result of him dying it? You could only make estimates. Right outside the edge of his mask he appeared to have a rather sharp jawline. You looked closer at him in the dim light of the tunnel. You weren’t entirely sure, but it seemed as if his ears may have been pierced. He wasn’t wearing any earrings, but when looking close enough it seemed as if some sort of piercing hole was present on his earlobe. Finally, you noticed a rather large giveaway characteristic. On the left side of his neck, right above where his shirt collar reached, was a rather distinctive brown mole to the lower left of two freckles that appeared towards the back of his neck. You made sure to note that characteristic and commit it to memory, since you had learned from experience that it’s good to be as descriptive as possible when you don’t know the worker’s full name.

As you repeated the list of characteristics you had discovered in your head, the two of you reached the stairway you had entered this confusing maze from. Once you reached the bottom of the steps, you both stopped. Your smile grew wide with both excitement and relief. You looked at Frank enthusiastically.

“This is it! This is where I came down here from! Oh man, I thought I was going to die down here,” You began ascending the steps. “You really are the best!”

He seemed to tense up as your words, making you feel rather foolish. Without another word from him, you saw him turn to walk back down the tunnel in the direction you two had come from. You reached out your hand, wanting to say more, yet decided that it was best to not push your luck. You’d simply thank him with that commendation you planned on reporting. You hoped that it would get him some sort of compensation for you wasting his time.

You continued up the stairs, leaving the abandoned subway. As soon as you were out of that terrifying place, you turned on your phone to send a text to Jake.

(y/n): “Guess who made it out of the tunnel! No tunnel demon murder for me!”

Jake: “Woo, congratulations. You have basic survival skills. Make it home safe, okay?”

(y/n): “Lol no promises but I’ll try. Thanks for your concern, kid.”

Putting your phone back into your pocket, you made the trek home. You repeated the characteristics in your mind on loop until you found yourself unlocking the door to your apartment. You reflected upon how much worse the night could’ve gone had Frank decided to be any less generous as you prepared to go to bed. You regretted not verbally thanking him, submitting to the knowledge that you’d just have to hope that you’d see him again so you could thank him more properly. As you laid your head down to sleep, you became determined to submit that commendation as soon as the morning light hit your face. He deserved it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya'll I'm honestly pretty happy with how this turned out. I hope y'all enjoy this chapter, especially now that we've officially seen our lovely bunny boy.

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all I have no idea what I'm doing but woo here we go let's do this. If I'm going to simp for the bunny man y'all will too.


End file.
